Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Watertown’s best subject grade is an A− for incomes; its weakest is a C for walkability. 94% of households own their home in Watertown, against 74% in Wisconsin’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 50 of Wisconsin’s 869 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Cappies Landing, at 26 acres. Watertown has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Watertown beats most towns.
Where Watertown’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Wisconsin), ordered by how far Watertown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,451 in 1850, 22,926 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1854 and 3 maps from 1892 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Watertown, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Watertown.
Watertown’s middle household income is $100,000. Jobs in Watertown grew by 72 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 399. Among working residents here, 2.3% work locally. The top destinations are Watertown (14%), Madison (6%) and Oconomowoc (6%).
| Watertown | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.9% | 6.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $100,000 | $87,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected losses in Watertown break down as 55% from inland flooding and 17% from tornadoes. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 73% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims here since 2004: 6.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Summer afternoons peak near 82° in July, and January nights bottom out around 12°; snowfall runs to about 37 inches a winter. Winters in Watertown are cold, snowy and summers pleasant.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
College graduates make up nearly a quarter of adults 25 and older, against 33% across Wisconsin. Adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (19% statewide). The age of the median resident for Watertown comes to 47 years.
| Watertown | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47 years | 42.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 20% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 24% | 32% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.5 points. Across Wisconsin, 49.9% of residents are women.
| Watertown | WI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.4% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.9% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.7% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.1% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.8% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.4% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.3% | 13.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.7% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.8% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.4% | 6.4% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.2% | 29.4% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.9% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 21.7% | 11.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.4% | 22% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.5% | 11.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,900, single groups can be off by several points
Watertown: 15% of adults smoke cigarettes. Among adults here, 30% get no exercise outside work and 76% had a checkup this year.
| Watertown | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 26% | 25% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 78% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 20% | 16% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For Watertown, the concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile. There are 2.1 miles of trail across 1 park or preserve.
| Watertown | Wisconsin towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.9% | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cappies Landing | — | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Watertown
About 4 of every 100 Watertown residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Wisconsin.
18 notable people were born in Watertown.
City in Wisconsin, United States
Watertown is a city in Jefferson and Dodge counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 22,926 at the 2020 census, of which 14,674 were in Jefferson County and 8,252 were in Dodge County. Division Street, several blocks north of downtown, marks the county line. Watertown is a principal city of the Watertown–Fort Atkinson micropolitan statistical area which is in turn a sub-market of the larger Milwaukee–Waukesha–Racine combined statistical area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Watertown.
| Town | WI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watertown | — | — | B− | — | C+ | C+ |
| Milford | — | — | C | — | B+ | B |
| Watertown | #263 | B− | B− | B | C+ | C+ |
| Farmington | — | — | C | — | C+ | B− |
| Ixonia | #56 | A | B− | — | A− | B+ |
| Emmet | — | — | C− | — | C+ | C+ |
| Shields | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Watertown, Milford, Farmington and Emmet have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Watertown, Milford, Farmington, Ixonia and Emmet report no FBI crime data of their own. Shields isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Watertown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
18 notable people were born here, including Daniel Brandenstein and Joseph Edward Davies.